Automatic feed-gear for conveyers.



PATENTED SEPT. 24. 1907.

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APPLICATION FILED J'Al. 23, 1907.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.,`

CHARLES WILLIAM JAMES, OF SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND, ASSIGNOR TO EDGAR ALLEN AND COMPANY LIMITED, OF SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND.

AUTOMATIC FEED-GEAR FOR CONVEYERS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 24, 1907.

Application filed January 23,1907. Serial No. 353,746-

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES WILLIAM JAMES, a subject of England, residing at 83 Nether Edge road, Sheffield, in the county of York, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Automatic Feed-Gear for Conveyors and Elevators, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to gear for feeding conveyers and elevators, hereinafter referred to as conveyers, which are provided with swiveling buckets such as are employed for transporting small coal and other mineral or granular substances, and the object of my invention is to so regulate the feed of the material that the quantity fed into each bucket shall be evenly distributed and the fall of material between the buckets shall be prevented.

The nature of my invention will be better understood on reference to the accompanying drawings in which;

Figure l, is a side elevation of our improved apparatus showing the hopper door fully open. Fig. 2, is a wew showing the position of the actuating parts when the door is fully closed. Fig. 3, is an end elevation.

The same letters refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

I carry out my invention by placing above a portion of the conveyer, a which travels in a horizontal direction,a hopper, b, provided with a radial sliding door, c, at its bottom orifice, the movements of such door being actuated by the traveling wheels or runners, d, d, of the conveyor which come into contact with rollers, e, and j, j. For the opening movement, the rollers e, e, attached to levers, f, f, are so arranged that when the traveling wheels, d, of the conveyer come in contact with the said rollers, one arm, f, of a double lever, to which they are attached, is lifted, while the other arm, g, which is connected by a link or bridle, h, to the side of the door is depressed and causes the radial door, c, to open backwards, so that the feed into the buckets, i, commences from the front edge of the hopper orifice into the leading `or front end of the swiveling bucket, and by the time the trailing end of the bucket is opposite the back edge of the hopper, the door is fully open as shown in Fig. l. At the same moment the other rollers, j, j, attached to the door, c, come in Contact with the next or following pair of conveyer wheels, d, which closes the door during the time the space between the two buckets, i, i, is passing under the hopper as shown in Fig. 3. The moment the door is closed the first named rollers, e, e, which are attached to the previously mentioned levers, and which by the motion of the closing of the door have been brought back to the first position, come in contact with the same pair of conveyer wheels, d, which effected the closing of the door, upon which the opening movement as first described is repeated, and so on continuously for every pair of wheels and every bucket in the conveyer.

In case'where it may be necessary to move the conveyer without material being fed into thenbuckets, I provide screws Z operated by suitable gears, 1c, at the side of the hopper by means of which the centers of the levers, f, g, are lifted, and the actuating rollers, e, e, and j, j, are thereby raised out of reach of the conveyer wheels d, and at the same time the door, c, ofthe hopper is securely closed; Said centers are carried by blocks l with which the screws engage to raise or lower the same.

What I do claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with a conveyer comprising a chain of buckets and wheels between the buckets, a hopper suspended above the conveyer, a swinging door closing the lower end of the hopper, a two arm lever carried by the hopper and having a roller at one end, a link connecting its other' end with the door, said roller being adapted to engage with one of the wheels o1 the conveyer to open the door, and a projection on the door with which the following wheel engages to close the door.

2. In combination with a conveyer comprising a chain of buckets and wheels between the buckets, a hopper suspended above the conveyor, a swinging door closing the lower end of the hopper, a two arm lever carried by the hopper' and having;- a roller at one end, a link connecting its other end with the door, said roller being adapted to engage with one of the wheels of the conveyor to open the door, a projection on the door with which the following wheel engages to close the door, and means for raising,l the two arm lever into inoperative position.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this speciiication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES WILLIAM JAMES.

Witnesses T. SQUIRE, W, W. BAmsro. y z E 

